Quilt Babe in Arms shares a powerful message about gun violence. It was created by New Zealander Mary Jane Sneyd — long before two mosques in her country were attacked by a gunman killing 51 people and injuring 50 others.

The world of quilting is not always about colour, patterns, design and art.

Sometimes, it’s about making a statement and none could be more powerful than the one created by Sneyd that’s among more than 100 quilts from the South Pacific country featured this year at the Ailsa Craig Quilt Festival, opening Monday and continuing until Saturday at the Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre.

Sneyd’s quilt shows a toddler wearing an army helmet and brandishing a rifle against a red background punctuated with white crosses.

The words offered by the artist are poignant, bordering on prophetic, considering it was completed long before the mid-March terrorist attack on mosques in Christchurch.

“I am horrified by the number of deaths caused by guns and the all too frequent media reports of carnage from gun violence in the U.S.A.,” wrote Sneyd.

“Children, whether they use guns to kill or are killed by guns, are innocent victims of this mindlessness. This amount of ‘collateral damage’ is totally unacceptable in society and must be addressed immediately.

This is the ninth consecutive Ailsa Craig Quilt Festival and each has focused on a different country. It began in with the Netherlands in 2011, followed by Denmark, Israel, Great Britain, France, Latvia, Canada 150: A Celebration of Art Through Fibre in 2017 and last year Iceland.

Upwards of 3,000 visitors will stop in the town for the festival, which begins unofficially Sunday when local quilters are encouraged to hang their own works in front of their homes.

“What’s interesting every year is each country has a different take on what quilting means to them,” said Micaela Fitzsimmons, the festival’s creative director.

Babe in Arms by New Zealand quilter Mary Jane Sneyd is among more than 100 quilts from New Zealand for the annual Ailsa Craig Quilt Festival Monday through Saturday at the Ailsa Craig Recreation Centre. The New Zealand quilts range from traditional to contemporary themes, including political statements such as Sneyd’s which was made long before the terrorist attack in Christchurch where a gunman killed 51 people and wounded 50 others.

“Last year, Iceland was very good but also very traditional. New Zealand has a real emphasis on art quilts and some even have political commentary, such as (Sneyd’s).”

New Zealand quilters also offer some more contemporary looks, such as Melanie Martin’s Sleeve Tattoos, showing three panels that look like the tattoos you would see covering someone’s arms.

“I love it,” said Fitzsimmons. “All of them are quite remarkable, but that’s a particular one I enjoy. There’s humour in it, too. In the middle panel there’s a tattoo that says, ‘I Love Quilting.’ ”

The countries are selected based on recommendations from committee members who reach out to quilting guilds in various countries and invite them to come.

The home country selects the quilts that best represent their country and sends them to Ailsa Craig. Usually several quilters from the featured country come, their trip partially subsidized, and are on hand to talk about quilt-making in their country and to lead workshops and demonstrations.

Many of this year’s workshops (some of which have sold out) are on topics led by the New Zealanders include modern waggas (recycled materials), traditional Maori taaniko weaving, Florabunda (use of living plants as artistic tools), New Zealand flora and fauna, and flax weaving.

The New Zealand quilts are often floral with some abstracts, mountainous landscapes and seascapes — “a real broad spectrum of themes,” said Fitzsimmons.

A new initiative this year is the inclusion of mini-quilts of 18 inches square or less on the theme of New Zealand Through Our Eyes. The challenge to participate went to quilting guilds across Canada and more than 50 submissions were received. Almost as many were also received from New Zealand quilters. The mini-quilts will tour New Zealand for a year.

Tickets: $12 general, $5 youth (13-21 years) and children under 12 free; available at the door. Visit the website ailsacraigquiltfestival.com for more information, including schedules for talks, demonstrations and workshops.

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